Camp Rüling
by fate-has-laid-a-hand
Summary: After coming out to her parents, Emily Fields got sent away to a gay-to-straight conversion camp for the summer. She originally expected the experience to go terribly but she never counted on the pleasant surprises the camp would hold or that the most popular, mysterious girl at Rosewood High School, Alison DiLaurentis, would also be attending. - Emison. AU.
1. Welcome to Camp

_A/N: So, I saw a post on tumblr that went something like this - safe haven for gays disguised as a Christian straight camp - and thought it was a good idea therefore I'm going to write about it. There also might be a twist involving the –A we've all come to know._

_Basically imagine a world in which almost every female character is a lesbian. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or Pretty Little Liars._

_Enjoy._

Sitting at the very front of a bus in the heat of June reminded Emily just how much she hated school buses. Every window was open but it seemed as if no breeze was coming in so the air was stale and unmoving. That, combined with her need to fight back the urge to cry, made it a very unpleasant time. She hadn't been allowed to bring any electronics with her, so she'd been all the more bored. There wasn't much talking happening on the bus either and the main thing that could be heard was some 80's hit being played through the radio's speakers.

Her best friend from school, Samara, had been there to say goodbye before she left. When Emily came out to her, she was barely even surprised. Samara had simply patted her knee and said, "I know sweetie," then suggested they get froyo. Pretty anticlimactic.

Then when she told her parents, the conversation was short and to the point.

"Mom… Dad… I'm gay."

Quick, like ripping off a big lesbian Band-Aid.

They, specifically her mother, hadn't been quite as understanding.

So there she sat, with her head down and her hands folded on her lap. Her only mindset was to get through the next eight weeks. She played with a string that was hanging from the fraying edge of her jean shorts, promising herself that she wouldn't actually cry.

The bus driver told them that they were on their last stop before heading to camp just as they pulled up to a big beautiful house with a large porch.

Emily, who hadn't looked up once yet, found herself gazing through the glass of the bus window to see piercing blue eyes and a head of blonde hair.

The girl who owned those eyes wasn't even looking back at her, which she was thankful for, but those eyes were hard to miss nonetheless, especially with the way the sun shone on them. The blonde was standing on the very edge of the sidewalk and if the bus driver hadn't been careful, he could've bumped right into her.

She didn't look sad, or angry or scared. She didn't look as if she was feeling anything at the moment. Her face was beautifully stoic. Neither of her parents, or her siblings, her friends or even a pet were there to wave her off.

Maybe that was what really got the brunette interested. Or maybe it was the fact that the girl seemed very familiar. Maybe if she just walked closer…

As the nameless blonde gracefully sauntered onto the bus as if she was floating up on a cloud, Emily quickly averted her eyes back down, head tilting down in the process. This apparently got the girl's attention, because after just a few steps she reached Emily's seat and she spoke.

"Do you mind…?"

Looking up, Emily looked into those eyes to see the girl was politely asking about the small space right next to her. Now when she looked at her straight on like that, she knew whom she was. Alison DiLaurentis. The most popular girl in school. And, according to many jealous girls and brokenhearted boys, she was also a huge bitch. So it was a surprise to Emily that she'd ask or even _want_ to sit next to her.

It really didn't make sense that Alison asked about the seat, especially considering that there were many, many other completely empty seats. But she felt special for some reason or another. Because in some weird way, she felt like she'd just been chosen.

She never would've even dreamed that there was a possibility that Alison was gay. Although, she'd only really seen her around a couple of times since the intimidating Alison always had circles of admirers around her who constantly fought to get on her good side. But Emily was never one of them because she tried to avoid social interaction with gorgeous strangers as much as possible since she didn't want to accidentally give away her gayness.

But now of course, everyone on the bus knew she was a lesbian.

Swallowing hard, she quickly shook her head. "N-no. You can sit there," Was her quiet response, scooting over even closer to the window so Alison could have more space.

"Thank you," The blonde evenly replied, sitting right beside her. She tucked her suitcase underneath the seat, making it fit snugly next to Emily's. Then, "You go to Rosewood High, don't you?"

Emily looked up in slight surprise at that before nodding in response. "Yeah. I'm a senior. And so are you…" Trailing off, she bit her bottom lip and briefly debated on whether or not to tell her that she actually knew her name because she didn't want to freak her out. But then again, everyone knew Alison DiLaurentis. "Um, Alison, right?"

Alison gave her a wide, dimpled grin and a short nod. "Mm-hm, Alison DiLaurentis. And you're…Emma?"

The way that Alison asked sounded as if she had genuinely been trying to think of her name and it made Emily want to agree that her name was Emma just so she wouldn't have to disagree.

"Close," The brunette replied with a small smile of her own. "Emily. Emily Fields."

A look of remembrance washed over Alison's face at the clarification. "Right. Emily. You're on the swim team." It wasn't a question because she knew she was right that time. She was always up to date with things that went on at Rosewood High.

Emily practically glowed when Alison mentioned that, because it meant that she somehow noticed her. She nodded. "Have you ever been to a meet?" She knew it was a stupid question because why would Alison DiLaurentis show up to a swim meet? But she wanted to keep the conversation going and that was all she could think of to ask.

"No," Alison answered, as expected. "But I do know you're the best swimmer on the team."

Emily's cheeks involuntarily flushed at the compliment and she averted her eyes again. "Well, I wouldn't say that…" She trailed off bashfully, even though she knew it was pretty much true.

"Hot and modest. Odd combination," Alison commented almost to herself, which made the flush in Emily's cheeks that much more noticeable, before clearing her throat. "So, Emily. No one needs to know that I'm here, right? It'll be our little secret?"

Ah, now it all made sense to Emily. The blonde has only approached her because she knew they went to the same school, and didn't want word of her gayness to get around via rumor.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yes. Of course. I wasn't going to tell anyone," She lied, because she had planned on telling her friends once she got back home. But now that Alison had basically asked her not to, she wouldn't, because in all honesty, she was afraid of the girl beside her. Who wouldn't be?

As soon as Emily said that, Alison seemed to visibly relax, even if Emily hadn't noticed she'd been tense before. "Good," She replied before breathing out a "thank you." Emily simply nodded in response with a small smile on her lips.

The pair remained mostly quiet for the rest of the ride, only speaking to complain about how humid it was and their mutual hatred for busses. The camp was a couple of hours from their town and the time seemed to speed up for Emily with Alison by her side. Every so often she stole a glance at pink, bow shaped lips or those crystal eyes she loved so much. Her own chocolate eyes never held the gaze for long, in fear she'd get caught.

Soon enough, everyone was unloading from the bus in the middle of the forest-like area and it was pulling away, leaving twelve girls awkwardly standing there in silence, without anyone there to greet them. Even Alison seemed as if she didn't know what to do with herself.

Emily thought it'd be a good time to take a look around, even though she was firmly rooted in the spot she stood. The first thing her eyes landed on were the log cabins that were presumably for the "campers." There were four of them, three set up in a spacious row behind one larger one that she assumed were for the counselors. There was also a small building set to the side of the larger cabin, with a cross on top of the peaked roof. The chapel. It reminded her of exactly why she was there, and her stomach flipped once again. There were a few other buildings in the area as well, probably a cafeteria, washroom and cabin for indoor activities.

There was a fence surrounding the place and even though there were trees everywhere, there wasn't much foliage within the confines of the fence and camp. There was a big sign over the entrance that read _Camp Rüling. _

"No one told me I was expected to get in touch with the outdoors," Alison muttered and Emily could swear she could hear nervousness laced into her tone. She didn't take the blonde to be the outdoorsy type.

Before she could answer, a loud voice boomed over the intercoms that were set up around the camp. "Hello campers! I am Doctor Anne Sullivan, the head of Camp Rüling." Twelve pairs of eyes searched for the person who was talking. "You all arrived earlier than expected and myself and the other counselors are quite unprepared. No reason I can't give you your assigned rooms so you can get settled, however." There was a rustling of papers through the speakers before the woman cleared her throat.

"Emily Fields, Alison DiLaurentis, Aria Montgomery and Spencer Hastings, you four will be taking cabin A." Emily's heart skipped a beat, ignoring the other names that flowed from the speakers. How was she supposed to become straight when she was going to be sharing a cabin with _Alison_ for two months?

"Looks like you're stuck with me," Alison lightly whispered with a faint smirk, making the swimmer swallow hard.

"Mona Vanderwaal, Paige McCullers, Hanna Marin and CeCe Drake, you will be in cabin B. Jenna Marshall, Maya St. Germain, Sydney Driscoll and Shana Fring, you will take the final cabin, cabin C." All of the girls quickly located their cabin mates as Doctor Sullivan went on. "You all may go to your respective cabins to settle in and I will be out to greet you shortly. Welcome to Camp Rüling." With that, the speakers went dead and the dozen girls looked a little confused as they walked to their cabins.

Inside each cabin were two sets of bunk beds and four cubbyholes. There were three windows. Inside each cubby was a nametag, one for each of the four girls. Emily took her tag and peeled it off of the backing, sticking it to her chest. _Hello, my name is… Emily._ The five letters of her name were printed out in black ink and each letter was in caps.

Deciding to be helpful while still wanting to learn who was who since she all but ignored their names being called earlier, Emily took the three remaining nametags, handing Alison's hers first. "Aria? Spencer?"

Both girls abandoned their bags and stepped forward to claim their tags. Aria was the short, cheery brunette with large brown eyes and Spencer was the taller brunette with a preppy fashion sense and a guarded smile. Emily struck up small talk with the pair but Alison didn't pay much attention to any of them after she had her nametag in place and instead, flung her duffle bag onto her bottom bunk. That was when Emily realized that she was literally assigned to sleep on top of the blonde. This would be just lovely.

Emily couldn't help but notice how hands-on Aria and Spencer were being with each other, but she tried her best to ignore it and smile while they spoke. They apparently went to the same high school, Rosewood Day, so they'd known each other beforehand.

"So, do you two know each other?" Aria asked, green eyes flicking from Emily then to Alison, who was still unpacking her things methodically.

"We both go to Rosewood High School," Emily answered once it was clear that Alison wasn't going to respond. Obviously, she had no intentions of making friends there. "But we really just met on the bus ride over here."

Before anyone could add anything else to the conversation, the same loud voice, the voice of Dr. Sullivan, came ringing into the cabin through a speaker in the cabin, telling everyone to report to the area in front of the counselors' cabin.

As the four girls filed out of the place that would be their home for the upcoming months, Emily realized it would be an interesting time.

_A/N: Like it so far?_


	2. Queen Bees

_A/N: Damn! Wasn't expecting so much feedback but it sure does keep me motivated to write and update, so thank you for that. I'll probably put out a new chapter once a week if I continue getting support because I'm honestly lazy otherwise. _

_Also, for the reviewers who asked about things regarding ships: all I know for sure is that there will be Emison. I originally thought of background Spencer x Aria and Hanna x Mona but it may be subject to change. There will be no mutual Paily though, that's for sure. But, as with any love story, there will be obstacles._

_Annnd Jenna isn't blind in this._

_Finally, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm trying to not include any OC's._

_Anyway, on with the chapter._

"Who here knows who Anna Rüling was?"

All twelve girls stood in front of Dr. Sullivan silently, none of them making a move to answer at first. But after a moment, Spencer raised her hand. The counselor acknowledged her with a nod.

"She was one of the first known lesbian activists," Spencer said unsurely as if she knew she was correct but also knew it didn't make sense. The other eleven girls whisper amongst themselves, making the connection between the woman's name and the name of the camp.

Emily looked to Dr. Sullivan in surprise. Their camp was named after a lesbian activist? Why would a conversion camp be named after a lesbian activist?

Dr. Sullivan merely nodded her head to the confusion. "Correct, Spencer. Theodora Anna Sprüngli, also known under the pseudonym, Anna Rüling, was an advocate for lesbian rights as well as women's rights in general. Do you know what she said about how to handle LGBT children?" Twelve heads collectively shook to answer 'no.' Dr. Sullivan smiled kindly at the group. "With love and support."

Tears instantly sprung into Emily's eyes at that, not used to being met with love and support as a response to her sexuality. Her whole outlook on the camp suddenly changed and she felt a weight being lifted off of her chest. She heard Alison clear her throat.

"Most of you must think that we are here to persuade you into believing that you're straight," The woman continued, gesturing to the other three counselors that she'd previously introduced: Jackie Molina, Meredith Sorenson and Talia Sandoval. "But we are only here to help you get comfortable with who you are, whether that's homosexual, bisexual, pansexual or even heterosexual. Many of your families expect you to return home as the latter, but no one can force you to be anything." With a pause, brown eyes swept over the teenagers faces. "Questions?"

As Emily began to raise her hand, she heard Alison speak out beside her. "So we're here to sit in a circle and hold hands while singing Kumbaya?" A perfectly shaped blonde brow arched in annoyance.

"No, Alison," Talia cut in, stepping forward a little with a warm smile. "You are all here because someone in your life expects you to be someone who you're not. And we want you to learn that it's okay to embrace the person you were born as."

Emily's eyes trailed to her newfound friend and she watched as the blonde's jaw clenched and unclenched several times. It made her wonder why she seemed so upset. Wasn't this a good thing?

Alison just curtly nodded though, and refrained from saying anything else.

"Yes, Paige?" Dr. Sullivan asked as Emily turned her head to see the girl who had her hand raised. She was cute and tomboyish.

"My parents aren't going to react well if I go home and I'm still gay," Paige quietly said before gesturing to the rest of the campers. "I don't think any of our parents will," She added, getting a few nods of agreement.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw Alison roll her own. "Who gives a shit what your parents think of you?" She demanded, turning on her heel to look Paige in the face. It was the first thing she'd said in a while and it took Emily by surprise.

Before Paige could respond, a girl who looked strikingly similar to Alison budded in. "Ali is right. Who gives a damn? If any of our parents don't like it then they can go straight to hell." Her nametag read CeCe and if Emily didn't know better, she'd say that she was Alison's twin.

Alison grinned at CeCe while Paige cheeks turned pink. "She wasn't asking you - " Piped in a girl named Jenna in Paige's defense but before could finish, Dr. Sawyer interrupted her.

"Girls," She chided. "You all will have to learn to work together as a family. You need to stick together, not turn against each other." Dr. Sawyer gave Alison a pointed look, to which the blonde just rolled her eyes and muttered a "whatever." The head counselor turned to Paige. "In the beginning of July there will be workshops for your parents. But right now, you need to focus on yourselves and finding inner strength." She paused. "Any other questions?"

The girls remained silent. "Okay, well, I guess that means it's time to appoint a counselor to each of your cabins. Your counselors will assist with activities and provide help where needed. And they will also lead small group discussions every Monday at 6pm. On Thursdays we will all meet as a large group in the activity center, also at 6pm." Dr. Sawyer looked down at the clipboard that Emily just noticed she was holding. "Talia, you will be with cabin A. Jackie with B and Meredith with C."

Emily shifted her eyes to the tall, tanned brunette who would be her cabin's counselor and nearly blushed at the smile she received in return. None of the three counselors seemed to be a whole lot older than the campers, but Talia was definitely the youngest. Emily looked over at Alison, who was shooting daggers at Talia with her eyes.

"Your first task is to give your cabins proper names. You will be given wooden slabs and after you come up with a name, you'll be given wooden letters to decorate. Then your counselors will drill them onto the slab then they will be hung over your cabin doors. Your counselors will also give you the run down of the place."

Lost in her own thoughts, Emily suddenly found herself being whisked away by her cabin mates while Talia led them to a secluded area. She was happy they were going to be staying outside instead of going into the activity center because she could use the fresh air. She couldn't help but think about what Paige had been saying. She knew her parents wouldn't be happy if she returned home gay.

"So," Talia started off, plopping down to sit crisscross in the grass while the other four girls followed suit. Emily was hyper aware of how close Alison was sitting to her. "Breakfast is at 9 o'clock, lunch is at 1 and dinner is at 5. There are also a few vending machines if you get hungry. Sundays at 11am we all go to the chapel for mass. We also do a lot of activities with each other but we don't have a set schedule. And I'm sure you guys saw the bathrooms when you came in."

She paused and the girls nodded. "Good. Doc already told you about our little therapy sessions. It's no big deal; we just talk about whatever you guys want to talk about. Any questions?"

"Why do we have to go to mass? I thought this wasn't a conversion camp?" Aria asked with a creased brow.

Talia smiled. "This _isn't_ a conversion camp. But a little church never hurt anybody. Despite what all of you may have heard, God doesn't hate gays."

Aria, seemingly satisfied with that answer, just nodded in response.

Spencer cleared her throat and leaned forward. "In a pamphlet, I read that there would be some type of nature walk?"

"Yes, sometime during your last week here, you'll be hiking through the woods on a path. This whole place used to be a hiking trail. It's sort of a surprise, but I can tell you that it's really beautiful at the end of the path." Talia's eyes gleamed as she spoke about it, and Emily internally wondered what that was all about.

For the next couple of hours, the group debated a name and how to decorate their sign until they settled on _Queen B's_ that would be painted in black with pink and purple accents. It was Alison's idea, of course. Although Spencer did valiantly fight against it for twenty minutes, Alison won.

Another ten minutes later and there were five giggling girls with paintbrushes in their hands and oversized shirts on, to protect themselves from the paint that was splattering all over the place.

That was when a paint war began. All twelve girls and all three counselors began flicking paint at each other and even Alison wasn't worried about getting paint in her hair as she flung globs of nontoxic purple paint at Jenna and Sydney with a grin.

None of the girls had even had a chance to get to know each other yet, but they were all goofing off together like they'd known each other for years.

When Alison got hit right in the left boob with a huge splotch of yellow paint thanks to Maya, Emily threw her head back while laughing at Ali's startled expression.

It was then that black paint was launched at her. If her head hadn't been tilted back like it was, then it probably would've hit her forehead or grazed the top of her head. But since her head _was_ tilted back, it hit her square in the eye.

"Shit!" Emily exclaimed, hands flying up to cover her eye. The laughter immediately died down and Paige, the perpetrator, immediately rushed to her side.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Emily, I didn't mean to – " But Paige was cut off by Alison who was pushing her out of the way and taking Emily's arm, quickly leading her away. Talia tried following to offer help but Alison calmly told her that she could take care of it before calling over to Aria and Spencer to go into her bag and bring her the unopened bottle eye drops she kept there. The two brunettes scurried off to their shared cabin without a word.

Emily didn't even know what was happening because she was too focused on the slight burning sensation in her eye.

"Just follow me Em," Alison calmly told her and Emily really didn't have much of a choice but to listen. Soon they were standing in front of one of the bathroom sinks. "Let me see, take your hand away," She gently told her and Emily complied, even though she kept her eye shut. Black paint circled her eye and dripped down her cheek.

"It burns," Emily quietly whined, opening her good eye to look at the surprisingly concerned blonde girl in front of her.

Alison gave her an encouraging smile. "Don't be such a baby," She teased gently, guiding Emily to lean over the sink as she turned on the water. "Try opening your eye a little bit to rinse it out," She added, tying Emily's hair back into a ponytail with the hair elastic she wore around her wrist.

Emily did as she was told and carefully scrubbed the paint off from around her eye before opening it as best she could and splashing warm water into it. Alison stayed by her side and only looked up when Aria and Spencer walked in with the eye drops, followed by Talia who came to check up on them.

The three quickly left once Alison firmly told them that she had the situation under control. Emily could swear that she heard possessiveness in her voice.

Once Emily rinsed out her eye as best she could, she stood up straight, slightly squinting her damaged eye. "I think I got most of it out," She said, turning to face her friend.

"Here," Alison murmured softly, bringing up a hand to cup the swimmer's cheek, thumb resting just below her eye. "Tilt your head back and try to look up, I'm going to give you some eye drops."

Even though Emily was pretty positive that she could give herself the eye drops, she melted into Alison's touch and didn't want to pull away, so she complied. Albeit, she did wonder why the girl was being so nice.

First, Alison took a paper towel from the dispenser and lightly patted that water dripping down Emily's cheek, and then she squeezed a few drops from the bottle into a squinting chocolate brown eye. Emily blinked several times, causing a bit of the solution to trail down her cheek and be caught by a pale thumb.

"There," The blonde smiled, watching as Emily fully opened her injured eye. "It's a little red, but put in a few eye drops twice a day to help with the irritation."

Then just like that, Alison was walking out of the bathroom, leaving a dazed Emily clutching the small bottle of eye drops.

And Emily couldn't help but wonder if it was too soon to already have a crush on the mysterious blonde.

_A/N: My tumblr is fate-has-laid-a-hand so if you're a guest who has any questions or comments, you can leave them in my ask box so I can directly reply._

_Review maybe?_


	3. The Kissing Rock

_A/N: I know once a week updates aren't ideal and I would like to update twice a week at least, but until my professors stop giving me work, once a week is all I can manage for the time being. Thank you for understanding and for the support!_

By the time Emily emerged from the bathroom, a sign had already been hung over each of the three cabin doors.

_Queen B's_ **– **her own cabin. Then there was _Bad Bitches _next to it, which Emily knew was definitely CeCe's idea. And finally there was _The A Team_. The television show reference made Emily roll her eyes.

A loud buzz then rang through the camp, startling Emily so much so that she jumped slightly, which caused Talia's eyes to land on her from where she sat in the grass. "It's just the dinner bell, Em. Must be 5 o'clock already," She called to her with a laugh, standing up and walking over to Emily while smiling. Everyone else began to head to the cafeteria. "How's your eye?"

"It's okay. Ali helped me out," Emily replied, briefly wondering whether Alison would mind the nickname. CeCe called her it and they didn't even know each other, so it should be fine, right?

One of Talia's eyebrows rose. "_Ali_, huh?" She muttered under her breath, loud enough for Emily to barely hear as her eyes trailed to the distance, behind her. "You should be careful around her."

Just as Emily was going to open her mouth to protest, she heard a familiar voice come from behind her. "Be careful around who?"

Emily turned to see Alison standing a few feet behind her with her arms crossed and an expectant look on her face. "No one," She quickly said before Talia could answer. Then, in what was probably the boldest move of the swimmer's life, she hooked her arm through the blonde's to hopefully distract her.

The main reaction Alison gave was a smirk in Talia's direction. "Let's go to dinner then," She answered, leading Emily to the cafeteria by their linked arms.

Talia watched the pair with a frown and a shake of her head before following behind them to go to dinner.

She just knew Alison would be trouble.

…

Fifteen minutes after dinner was their first small group meeting and that meant that Talia, Alison, Emily, Hanna and Spencer were all sitting on yoga mats in a circle on the hardwood floor of the camper's cabin.

"How long does thing last?" Alison asked, leaning her head against the edge of her assigned bed, bored before they even began.

"Whenever you girls are done talking," Talia answered with a tight smile.

The blonde immediately leap up and sprawled out onto her bed, faced away from the rest of the girls. "Well, I'm done. Goodnight."

Talia's patience was wearing thin, and both Aria and Spencer looked to Emily for help.

Sighing, Emily scooted over a little and gently tapped Alison's shoulder, getting up a little to kneel beside her bed. "C'mon Ali, just talk to us a little…" The blonde lifted her head to give Emily a look as if to say _you're kidding, right?_ "…Or, at least listen."

Alison seemed to be thinking it over before she finally sat up, a smile slowly spreading across her lips as she quirked an eyebrow. "Anything for you, Em."

Spencer and Aria exchanged a puzzled glance while Emily's cheeks flushed as she sank back down to sit. Alison swung her legs off the side of the bed, having them land on either side of the swimmer, trapping her there between them.

Talia just rolled her eyes, not being able to help it because of Alison's actions. "Anyway, would anyone like to tell the story of how you came to be here?" She asked, trying to fall back into her counselor roll. "No one has to say anything that they're not comfortable with."

Spencer sat up a little straighter, hand moving to clutch Aria's for comfort. "My older sister caught Aria and I kissing and told our parents. Then my parents told Aria's parents."

"My mom was really cool about it… She even supports us. But my dad wasn't, and didn't. It was his idea to send me here." Aria continued the story and briefly turned to her girlfriend, a smile appearing on her lips. "After the decision was made, my mom talked Spence's into getting her sent here as well instead of a rigid catholic boarding school across the country. Her mom didn't know that my mom's motive was letting us still be together."

Knowing that Alison was about to make some snide comment, Emily gently nudged her calf with her elbow, silently asking her to be quiet. And to her surprise, Alison remained quiet with a huff.

Talia did speak up to tell them that any signs of PDA, mainly kissing, weren't allowed at camp. But it was pretty much okay as long as Dr. Sullivan didn't see it. And that, of course, she supported their relationship and thought it was adorable.

Emily looked between the two girls who were clinging onto each other and fondly smiled. She had sensed that the two were together earlier and she thought it was kind of adorable as well. And they could freely show their love, as long as the director was out of sight.

"My mom is the one who wanted to send me here," Emily added on to the conversation, telling the story of how she had come out to her parents and they didn't want anything to do with a lesbian daughter. Words came to her easily and she never felt the need to cry because she knew she had people there to support her. Even Alison had put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

So, it went on that way for several hours. Emily, Spencer and Aria spoke while Alison and Talia listened. Occasionally, Talia would give a word of advice on something one of the three said, but Alison remained completely quiet. Emily had been disappointed that the blonde hadn't said anything, but she knew better than to ask about her past in front of the other girls.

Around 8:30pm, Talia stood up to leave once the conversation had come to a close and no one had anything left to say on the topic. "I think that's good for today girls. Lights out is at 11 and I'm pretty sure the other two cabins are finished with their sessions, so you're all free to walk around as long as you don't leave camp. See you in the morning."

The four girls were then left alone.

Spencer stood up, followed by Aria. "We're going to walk around, did you guys want to come?" Spencer asked, looking between Emily and Alison.

Emily could tell that the pair would rather be alone because that meant they could make out privately. "No, it's okay, we're just going to hang around here for a while until we find something to do." By that point, Alison had completely laid back against her bed so Emily doubted she'd want to go anywhere anyway. She could keep her company.

Once Aria and Spencer left, Alison sat up in bed, eyes finding Emily's. "Do you want to go somewhere?" She asked, a glint of mischief in her bright eyes.

Emily quirked a brow in response at first, standing up to then sit on the edge of her friend's bed. "Where?" She wasn't exactly sure where they really could go; there wasn't a whole lot they hadn't seen already to explore.

Alison took that as a yes and grinned, getting out of bed and putting on her sneakers. "Just follow me and be quiet."

With that, Alison exited the cabin, followed by Emily who was hurriedly hopping into her own pair of sneakers.

The sun had already set and it was dark out. If there hadn't been lanterns throughout camp, they wouldn't have been able to see where they were going.

"Ali, where are you talking me?" Emily nervously asked as they reached the very end of camp, to a vine-covered _The Secret Garden _type door in the middle of the fence.

"Shh," Was the only answer she got, as Alison unlatched the gate and pushing it open, a dirt path on the opposite side. She immediately started walking, expecting Emily to follow. Which she reluctantly did after she closed the gate behind them.

Emily stayed close to the blonde, not liking the idea of walking through the forest at night, especially when she knew they weren't allowed to, and probably for a good reason.

"I know a shortcut," Alison told her as she started to stray from the path, causing Emily to reach out and latch onto her hand in fear as she followed. The blonde simply let her hand be held, knowing her friend was worried.

"A shortcut to _where?_" Emily asked, anxiety building up as she walked as close to Alison as she could without tripping. Normally she'd be nervous at the fact that she had reached out to take the beautiful girl's hand, but she'd already been too nervous to begin with so it didn't matter. She didn't know why she was following Alison into the middle of nowhere, but she trusted that they at least wouldn't die.

Alison didn't answer until several long moments later, when they came to a wide-open space that was clear of any trees. The moonlight reflected off of the small lake there, and there was a huge rock that sat in the middle of the grassy area. "Here. It's the place we're supposed to elaborately hike to at the end of our stay."

"It's pretty," Emily smiled, her previous anxieties washing away as she watched Alison let go of her hand and easily climb up the rock and sit before following her actions once she was gestured to.

"It is," Alison replied, eyeing the blushing girl beside her as they got settled beside each other on the smooth rock. "I thought it'd be nice for us to just be alone for a little while. The rest of the girls are getting on my nerves already."

Emily cleared her throat; a smile coming to her lips at the fact that she wasn't annoying to Alison. "So, why didn't you say anything back at the cabin, at the meeting?" She asked, hoping she wasn't pushing it.

"Because I don't see the point of sitting around and talking about how much I like to fuck girls," Alison simply answered, causing Emily to swallow hard. Well, when she put it that way…

"Maybe…maybe it'll be good to talk to someone about it sometime," Emily hesitantly offered, raising her eyes to meet crystal blue. "Not about, you know, _that _but just sexuality in general."

"Maybe," Alison conceded with a sigh, shifting her thigh slightly so it was pressed up against Emily's. "You could be my personal counselor. I like talking to you."

At Alison's words, Emily felt tingles run through her body and she had to bite her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling too widely. "I liked talking to you too," She shyly answered in a hushed tone before her mind quickly jumped to the question she'd been wanting an answer to. "Tell me why your parents sent you here?"

The blonde's confidence faltered at the question and she folded her hands on her lap, not wanting to look up at Emily. "It was my decision to come here," She replied after a long stretch of silence, much to the surprise of her friend. But before Emily could ask anything else, Alison leaned over and placed a soft, quick kiss to a tanned cheek. "That's enough counseling for today, don't you think? We should get back before anyone notices we left."

With that, Alison hopped off of the rock and gracefully landed, starting back towards the path. Emily hurriedly caught up with her, one hand reaching up to caress the spot that the enigma of a girl had kissed.

_Why had Alison chosen to come here if she thought it was a conversion camp? And why did she kiss me? Was it just to distract me from her previous words? _A hundred other questions raced through Emily's mind but she didn't have an answer to any of them.

When they had reached camp, the two didn't speak to each other any further, they just went their separate ways to shower and get ready for bed. Spencer and Aria had already been back and they were sitting on Aria's bed, talking and laughing.

At exactly 11pm, every light except the ones leading up to the restrooms were shut off, and the four girls said their goodnights to each other.

Emily lay in her top bunk with chocolate eyes wide open, knowing she wouldn't be getting much sleep that night because all of her thoughts were on the mysterious blonde who was probably already fast asleep on the bunk below her.

_A/N: tumblr is fate-has-laid-a-hand if you have any questions/comments_


	4. Breakfast In Bed

_A/N: I'm sorry for the delay! First it was exam week and I had a ton of catching up to do. And then it was spring break and I was off doing spring breaky things. Anyway, here ya go._

_Also, CeCe is the same age as the other girls in this verse, not older._

The following morning, Emily woke up to a stream of sunlight shining over her face. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up in bed, she realized that she was alone in the cabin.

It only took her a moment to hop down from her bunk and become worried.

"Uh…guys?" She called, knowing no one would answer. It's not like there were a bunch of places her cabin mates could have hid.

Emily's eyes found the clock hanging over the window and immediately slouched over at the time. It was almost 10am, which meant she'd just missed breakfast. Her stomach rumbled at the thought and she quickly changed out of her sleep shorts and shorts and into regular summer wear and hurried out of the door in hopes that she could still catch a pancake or something. She was always hungry first thing in the morning.

As soon as she stepped outside, she was in such a rush that she hadn't noticed the blonde who was about to walk into the cabin, and in turn, smashed right into her.

"Oof!" Alison yelped, nearly falling backwards because of the force that Emily slammed into her, trying to keep the plate of food in her grip from falling into the dirt.

Emily stumbled back against the doorframe with a gasp but managed to stay upright as she shot out her hand to catch Alison's arm to make sure she wouldn't fall. "Alison I'm so sorry, I didn't see you, I shouldn't have – "

Her wide-eyed rambling was cut off by a short chuckle that left Alison's lips. "No worries, Em. I came back to bring you food and it would've been your loss if you knocked it out of my hand," She smiled, passing her the plate.

Emily perked up at that, noticing for the first time the plate wrapped in tinfoil that Alison had in her grasp. She gently let go of her arm. "Oh," She returned the smile, accepting the plate. "Thank you. But why didn't you just wake me for breakfast before you left?"

"You slept through the wake up bell at 7:30. _Which_ no one told us would happen," Alison paused with a small huff, clearly annoyed at being woken up so early. "But after you slept through the breakfast bell too, I assumed you were dead because only the deceased would be able to ignore that annoying buzz."

An amused expression washed over Emily's features and she let out a small chuckle as she held the door open for Alison to go back into their cabin. "If you thought I was dead, why did you bring me breakfast?"

"Because on the off chance that you were still alive, I figured you'd be hungry," Alison answered as she breezed by Emily, kicking off her flip-flops and flinging herself onto her bed.

Emily sat on the edge of Alison's bunk, carefully peeling the tinfoil off of the plate to reveal a mountain of assorted breakfast food with a fork tucked to the side, stomach rumbling once again. Alison tossed a bottle of orange juice at her, which she easily caught. "I'm alive and starved," She paused, ripping into a slice of toast. "Thank you again."

Alison dismissively waved off her thanks, propping herself up against her pillow. "We have to be in the activity room at 10:30, so hurry up. All of the other girls already headed over."

"What are we doing in there?" Emily asked, swallowing a mouthful of bacon.

"No idea," Alison answered with a shrug as she sat up a little straighter. "Hey, do you want to go back to The Kissing Rock after we do whatever stupid activity they have planned for us?"

At the question, Emily nearly choked on her forkful of eggs. "The Kissing Rock?" She questioned, not knowing that had been the name of the place they'd gone to the previous night. Was it a tradition to kiss whomever you went there with or something? Is that why she had received a cheek kiss the previous night?

A corner of Alison's lips quirked up into a smirk. "That's what it used to be known as, before this camp was built last fall." Before Emily could stutter out a response, the blonde continued. "Anyway, are you in?"

"Sure," Emily breathed, not being able to refuse Alison. What's the worst that could happen, right? "How did you even find it? Didn't they remodel everything and take out paths?" She then asked, realizing that none of the counselors had ever told them much about it.

"No secret is safe from me," Alison vaguely replied with a playful wink, moving to sit up with her legs hanging off of the bed. "Now hurry up, I'll see you in the activity center in a few." She stood up and just as she reached the door, she turned and looked back at Emily as if she just remembered something. "Oh, and don't forget to use the eye drops."

Emily tried not to smile too widely at Alison's reminder, but the thought of what she had previously said, settled in the back of her mind. Once again, before she could answer, the blonde cut her off by leaving their cabin.

She sighed and quickly finished her breakfast before standing up to look in the small mirror that balanced on top of her cubbyhole. It was then that she realized that her hair was a complete mess and she had actually let _Alison_ see her like that.

Alison, who always looked like she had a team of professionals work on her hair and makeup, had seen Emily completely disheveled and not spoken a rude word about it. From the rumors she had heard about Alison DiLaurentis, the girl wasn't supposed to be anything comparable to nice. Emily didn't even have time for a shower.

_Maybe she's trying to earn my trust so she can kill me later, _Emily thought while brushing out her hair then placing a blue floral snapback on her head backwards. _Why else would she try to be my friend? Why else would she kiss my cheek?_

Emily wasn't known to be paranoid, but anyone in her situation would probably be thinking the same thing. She wrote those thoughts off as silly though, because even though Ali might be considered a bitch to everyone else, as far as Emily knew, at least she wasn't a murderer.

_What does she want then?_

That was the main thought on Emily's mind as she stepped out of her cabin once she thought she looked presentable and had administered her eye drops (she was actually kind of bummed that Alison hadn't stuck around to do them for her like she had the first time). She could hear chatter coming from the place they were supposed to meet and she quickly made her way over, a few minutes shy of being late.

It was the first time she had seen the inside of the building and it was…colorful to say the least. She wasn't sure if all the bright colors were meant to be representative of the whole gay thing, or if the Dr. Sullivan had hired a particularly bubbly five year old to decorate inside. Either way though, Emily felt welcomed by the atmosphere.

There were also a few foosball tables, a pool table, a Ping-Pong table and a darts game. The room was well equipped for the girls to be able to have some downtime in-between the mandatory activities.

She took a quick look around the room and noticed that most of the girls were sitting with their cabin mates at the small round tables. There hadn't been assigned seating, but most of them had already formed bonds with the ones they lived with.

Some of them were out of place though and that included Alison, Shana and CeCe, who sat at a table with four chairs by a window. Just as Emily was going to claim the last empty seat next to Ali, she noticed how close the threesome were sitting and how they were whispering and wondered whether or not she'd be welcome there.

Emily was just about to start looking for another seat before she heard a soft, "Em!" She smiled inwardly, recognizing the voice as Alison's.

Ali didn't make any type of 'come here' gesture, or outright ask her to sit beside her, but Emily knew that the short nickname was an invitation, so she accepted and as she glanced out of the window near them, she saw the fire pit outside.

As Emily took her seat beside Alison, CeCe gave her a short nod, which she assumed was a nod of acceptance, and she received a smile from Shana. She smiled at them both and whispered a "hi," to Alison just as Dr. Sullivan called for their attention.

"Good morning girls, I trust that your first night at camp went well." Dr. Sullivan was met with nods and mumbles of agreement before she continued. "For this morning's activities, you will be getting into groups of four. You're allowed to chose your own groups but you're expected to be with no more than one person from your assigned cabin so all of you can get to know each other better."

Emily looked around the table to the three other girls she sat with and after Alison gave her a nod, she breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing it meant the four would work together.

Spencer and Aria, naturally, didn't leave each other's side and they got together with Hanna and Maya. That left Paige, Jenna, Mona and Sydney to be a group of their own.

Talia, Jackie and Meredith oversaw the girls as they started playing the games that had been explained to them while they gathered with their groups.

Emily had easily struck up a conversation with Shana and the girls were laughing together in no time while all four of them used pieces of PVC pipes to try to get marbles into the container in the center of the room. The girls stood side by side and it was kind of hysterical to see them try to not drop the marble. CeCe seemed weary of Emily at first but soon followed Alison's lead in joking around.

A little while later, after a few more games that were meant to get them working together as a team, Dr. Sullivan called for break time, telling the girls that they were free to do what they wanted until lunch which was in about an hour.

Paige, Jenna, Sydney and Shana stayed inside the activity center to play foosball while the rest of the girls wandered outside, in search of something to do.

When Hanna groaned about being hungry, it took all of Alison's strength to not comment about her weight and how much she shouldn't want more food. She didn't want Emily to see the meaner side of her. Not yet, anyway. Plus, CeCe was doing enough roasting for both of them.

After a long and, in Alison's opinion, painstaking, conversation with the group, she discretely pulled Emily aside.

"Let's go to The Kissing Rock," Alison whispered, leaning in close. "We can have our own therapy session there before lunch."

Emily silently agreed with a nod of her head and the pair slipped away down the path, keeping close to the each other's side.

_A/N: There will gradually be more action throughout the story. I guess you could say I'm still setting things up for now._


	5. Kiss Kiss

_A/N: I apologize for the delay. I think we all need a little emison during times like these, so here's the next chapter for you. Oh, and thank you for your words of encouragement to keep writing!_

_Also, I'm so excited that same sex marriage has been legalized throughout all 50 states. Such a big step forward! _

_Anyway, on with the chapter!_

"Why are there bathing suits on the rock?" Emily questioned once they got to The Kissing Rock, spotting a familiar black bikini that she knew as her own and a blue one laid out beside it, with two neatly folded white towels.

"We're going swimming in the lake," Alison answered with a grin, picking up her own swimsuit and tossing Emily hers.

Emily felt the need to ask how the blonde had gotten their bikinis there in the first place, but she found herself not even caring that Alison had obviously gone through her things to find it because she thought the idea was sweet. She simply complied, which seemed to appease the other girl.

Without another word, Alison turned from Emily and piled her flaxen locks on top of her head, tying them up into a bun. She then tugged her shirt off over her head which was quickly followed by her bra, causing a blush to form on the Emily's cheeks at the first sight of her bare back, momentarily frozen in place. She quickly turned away as well and got changed, to avoid seeming creepy.

Just as she was tying the strings of her top, she heard a splash and her back was doused in cold water as Alison jumped in. "Ali!" She squealed, jumping forward to try to escape the spray.

Alison giggled even as she shivered from the coldness of the water that she was shoulder deep in. "Sorry, you were taking too long."

"I was almost ready," Emily whined playfully, a shiver running through her own body, but not because of the water. Even though Alison was almost completely submerged in the lake, the water was clear enough for the brunette to be able to see the soft contours of her body. She was truly beautiful, and the blue of her bikini only brought out her eyes.

"Eyes are up here Em." Alison's voice broke Emily from her thoughts and deepened her blush.

"I-I wasn't..."

"Just get in the water," Alison rolled her eyes but there was a playful smirk on her lips so Emily knew she wasn't annoyed.

Emily nodded, thankful her tanned complexion hid most of her blush, as she gracefully dove into the water, figuring it was deep enough. She wouldn't consider herself graceful in any other aspect of her life, but she knew that she was a natural in water.

"You're like a mermaid," Alison smiled, a look of adoration on her face when Emily broke through the water's surface to take a breath.

"A mermaid?" Emily asked, a smile making its way onto her own lips. "How?"

Alison waded over closer to her to lead her closer to the riverbank so they didn't have to struggle to stay afloat before reaching up and brushing dark, wet locks back from her face. "You've barely swam and it's already obvious how graceful you are. Plus, you're more than beautiful enough to lead men… or, well, _women_ to their deaths."

A small lump formed in Emily's throat and she tried to unsuccessfully swallow past it. "You think I'm beautiful?" Her voice was small and unsure as she shyly gazed at the blonde.

Rolling her eyes again as if the answer to the question was painfully obvious, Alison nodded. "Duh. You're gorgeous." She stayed close to Emily. So close, in fact, that Emily could feel the shared body heat through the gentle current of the water.

At the compliment, Emily averted her gaze to the surface of the lake as a tiny, bashful smile adorning her lips. "So are you," She murmured softly, thankful that her voice was steady.

"You're also absolutely adorable," Alison giggled softly for only a moment before a gentle smile settled on her lips.

For the following fifteen minutes, the pair splashed around like children, having contests to see who could hold their breath under water longer and having races from one side of the lake to the other. After the fourth race, both girls were breathless and panting, agreeing to take a break and lean up against the side of the lake. Alison had really only agreed to take a break because she'd finally reached the opposite side before Emily in their final race, and a triumphant grin was on her lips.

"Now I can say I beat the famous Emily Fields in a swim race," Alison proudly declared, gently bumping her shoulder against Emily's teasingly.

"I let you win," Emily protested with a laugh, trying to catch her breath as well as she slumped against the blonde.

Alison simply smiled and supported Emily's frame, choosing to not comment on the matter further.

"You know…" Alison spoke up once she caught her breath, voice trailing off as she brought her hand back to Emily's raven hair, curling a lock around her finger and wading from her spot beside Emily to stand in front of her. "This place is called The Kissing Rock for a reason. Don't you think it should live up to its name?"

It took a moment for Emily to fully understand what the implications of Alison's words were and as she caught on, her mouth went dry. "I-I, uh…" She stuttered, suddenly not being able to form a coherent sentence. If she thought she was breathless before, she must've been half dead now. The only thought running through her head was _Alison DiLaurentis wants to kiss me… _She_ wants to kiss _me.

Alison simply lifted a brow in amusement as she continued to toy with dark hair, which caused Emily to quickly nod in agreement to the question she'd been asked since obviously, words weren't doing her any good in that moment.

Then, before Emily could fully process what was happening, she felt full, soft lips mold against her own and it took every last bit of her self control to not let a moan slip past. Her eyes instinctively slammed shut and her hands made their way up to thread through soft blonde tresses, easily finding the hair elastic that held up her hair and tugging it out so curls cascaded over pale shoulders.

All Emily could taste was cherries and all she could feel was soft, cool skin pressing closer to her own under the water. Skilled hands resting upon a tanned waist, pushing her back to rest against the wall of the lake.

Emily had never kissed a girl before and she couldn't help but notice the subtle differences between kissing boys and girls. And _yup,_ she was definitely sure now more than ever, that she was gay.

But the kiss couldn't have lasted more than three or four seconds, and Alison was the first to pull back. When she did, Emily's eyes snapped open and she could swear that there was a hint of a confused expression on the blonde's features, as though she hadn't expected Emily to be that good of a kisser.

"That was…" Emily's words trailed off as her hands fell from blonde hair, cheeks heating up in another blush as she struggled to find the correct word to describe the fireworks she'd felt at the touch of Alison's lips.

"Nice," Alison finished for her, voice hushed as she offered the girl before her a gentle smile.

"Mhm," The brunette confirmed with a singular nod of her head and a returned smile, even though it was so much more than that for her. She could still feel her lips tingle.

Alison's hands remained on Emily's hips, her thumbs delicately grazing soft skin. And Emily certainly didn't want to move out of that embrace. She wasn't sure exactly why she'd been kissed; the fact that the place was titled "The Kissing Rock" just seemed like a poor excuse. But she certainly wasn't going to question it.

"We should probably get back now," Alison quickly added, pulling her hands away hastily as though Emily's skin had suddenly been set ablaze and she didn't want to get burned.

"Yeah…" Emily repeated even though returning to camp was the last thing she felt like doing. She knew the disappointment was evident in her tone, but she couldn't care less at that point. Alison DiLaurentis had just _kissed_ her after only knowing her for a day. How could she go back to her normal life?

A knowing grin appeared on Alison's lips as she leaned over, giving Emily's lips a soft peck and making the shy girl's heart flutter. "Oh, don't sound so enthused," She teased with a wink. "Besides, we can always come back later, right?"

"Right," Emily quickly replied, failing in her attempt to not sound too eager.

Without another word, Alison turned from Emily, placing her hands on the riverbank and hoisting herself out of the water, all while mocha eyes were transfixed on her as Emily followed behind.

The two didn't speak any further; the blonde simply turned from Emily to redress herself and briefly towel dry her hair, and Emily did the same.

Then with Alison in the lead, the pair began their short trek back to camp, remaining silent the entire time.

The only thing on Emily's mind was the kiss she shared just moments ago, with the girl who was confidently walking in front of her.

And she couldn't, for the life of her, fathom how Alison could be so calm and collected after that kiss.

Well… actually yeah, she could see how she'd be so unflustered about it. It was only a kiss. It didn't mean anything. Emily had never been to a camp of any sort before during the summer, but she figured things like that just…_happened_. Right?

Right?

Either way, she wasn't going to push the issue. Alison DiLaurentis was the first girl she ever kissed and no matter what happened from here on out, that was something she'd hold on to. Even if was some big, twisted game.


End file.
